Into the Tempest
by Lukas-the-Trickster
Summary: On the world of Oasrine the soldiers of the Ultion Imperial Guard believe they have beaten the Arch Enemy but as the last of the first invasion force is destroyed a new arrives in the system and it quickly becomes apparent a much deadlier threat is on the way. Tank Commander Riker and the crew of Tempest will face their most brutal battle against an enemy they cannot hope to defeat


_So this is the prologue to my new story Into the Tempest which will focus mainly on a Tank Commander named Riker, his crew and the tank of course; Tempest. A secondary character comes in the form of House Guard Sergeant Viktoria, whom you will learn about as you read obviously. Ultio and the Ultion Guard are an original __Imperial Guard force of my own devising and may appear in other stories in the future. For now I hope you enjoy this one and please let me know what you think._

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><p>"Traverse right!"<p>

Hard shot pelted the armoured flanks of Tempest, kicking up a shower of sparks and paint chips.

Commander Riker swore, shielding his eye with his forearm, a few pieces of shrapnel tore at his black sleeve. He had an enemy troop transporter in his sight that he wasn't about to let slip by.

"Traverse right!" he repeated into his micro-bead.

Beneath Riker, in the bowels of the tank its gunner, Detlev, cursed loudly, "I see him, I see him!"

"Fire!" Riker roared.

"One out! Eat shit!" Detlev growled his thumb hitting the firing stud.

Riker felt the tank shudder, its gyrostabilisers compensating for the recoil of the massive Vanquisher cannon mounted on Tempests turret. His ears were assaulted by the meaty boom of the cannons report. He watched with grim satisfaction as the armour piercing shell punched into the smaller Chimera's hull with enough force to flip it on its side, a second later the shell detonated spewing flame from the entry point.

"Good shot Det!" he lifted his magnoculars to his eye, his left was an empty socket beneath a black patch, the right was a dull grey, flecked with yellow.

Across the smoke drenched landscape the lumbering shapes of bigger tanks rolled over the churned earth. They were dirty black and red, adorned with gilded spikes and grizzly trophies. A stark contrast to the iron grey hulls of the Ultion 81st Armoured Division. He heard the report of a heavy bolter and glanced down to see his left sponson gunner, Ulrich, chewing through an enemy emplacement, the mass reactive shells reducing the brass armoured traitors to red paste.

"Kasia, take us out, full speed sweetheart!"

He heard the cluck of a tongue in his headset and smiled before his driver even spoke. "I told you not to call me sweetheart!" her tone indignant.

Never the less, Tempests engines roared into full power, a gout of black smoke pouring from her exhausts adding to the already choked air.

Riker swivelled in the copula, on his right flank, She-Wolf, another Vanquisher pattern Russ was keeping pace, her dozer blade shoving dirt and bodies aside with equal ease. Her commander, Amalia was inside the hull with the top hatch shut. On Riker's left was Vendetta, your bog standard Russ pattern that acted as medium range support for the two long range tank hunters. Jurgen, the Vendetta commander, was sitting in the cupola, his gloved hands wrapped around the grips of his heavy stubber. Every now and then he fired a burst into the trenches in front of the tank, taking the heads off any traitors he caught sight of.

"She-Wolf, Vendetta, stay with me, we've got heavy armour coming in from the North, its gonna get rough."

"Roger." Amalia replied, acid in her voice.

Jurgen gave a thumbs up, catching Riker's eye.

Riker rubbed his stubble laden jaw, "Thunder Guts, Lady Killer support our right flank." Thunder Guts was a demolisher pattern, whilst Lady Killer was another standard battle tank. Rounding off this particular formation was Centurion, a punisher class with an anti-infantry Gatling cannon. "Centurion, focus fire on enemy ground troopers, they might be carrying anti-tank launchers and we can't have that now can we?"

Zarine, one of the divisions other female commanders replied with a bark of laugher, "No sir we most certainly can't."

"Alright then." Riker grimaced, "Let's do this."

A shell detonated about a hundred metres from Tempest, thick clods of dirt and grit were hurled high into the air but it was a waste of ammunition.

"Amateurs." Riker grunted, "We're well out of range, what the hell are they firing for?"

More shells slammed into the ground, stones bounced across the hull and smoke billowed across his field of view for a moment, before being swept up and away by the wind. Riker didn't need a range finder or auspex to tell him when they'd be in range to fire, he could do it by eye and he knew Detlev could too. So far none of the enemy commanders seemed to have even half of the knowledge or experience Riker and his division did. They were good but they weren't Ultion good, although he had to admit it was difficult to find an armoured regiment that was.

"Detlev, see the lead tank?" Riker asked, his magnoculars raised once more. Through them he could see the vehicles commander, in a blood red uniform with brass shoulder plates and helmet, gesturing wildly to the tanks trailing in his wake.

"When we get into range you blow that son of a bitch sky high."

"Roger that sir."

They were drawing within rang of the Vanquisher cannons, Riker licked his lips. Detlev would fire the first shot.

"Three, two, one." He whispered.

"One out!" Detlev announced.

With a crunch Tempests cannon opened up. In the distance the enemies lead Leman Russ was hit direct in her left flank. It was shunted several metres to the right, before roiling flame spewed from its top hatch and incinerated the commander.

She-Wolf barked a round off of her own and Riker watched another tank blown to spinning shrapnel by a high explosive shell.

He heard a whistle, high pitched and getting louder. A shell whipped by so close he felt the displaced air caress his face.

"Throne!" The enemy had vanquishers as well but their gunners weren't nearly as good as the Ultion crews. "Well this just got more interesting. Kasia, prepare for potential evasive on my order."

"Aye sir!"

Another shell slammed into the ground on his right, the shock wave threw him against the copula, bruising his ribs, dirt rained down. Far down the 81sts battle line he caught sight of Midnight, another demolisher class, she took a direct hit, her turret and her commander blown apart in an oily fire ball. Midnight slewed to a halt.

"Damnit!" They were in range of the standard battle cannons now, the two forces barrelling toward each other had closed the gap more rapidly than he'd liked. "All units engage at will, commanders you have control of your individual groups. For the Emperor, for Ultio!"

Riker ducked a little lower in the hatch as tracer and hard rounds spattered against Tempests front armour. Ulrich and Volker opened up with the sponsons, heavy bolter fire tore across the mud, detonating among groups of advancing infantry. A shell hit Tempests front armour, it detonated but didn't penetrate the thick plate. Riker ducked a storm of shrapnel then popped his head back out to sight the shooter.

"Traverse left!" Metal screamed once more as the turret began to turn.

Detlev was cursing again, "I got it!"

"Fire!"

A glancing hit, the enemy pivoted at the last possible moment.

"Again, again! Kasia keep us on him!"

Riker heard the clang of the breach being slammed shut then Emil, the loader, yell, "Clear!"

The enemy fired again first but the shell missed Tempest flank by a hairs breadth.

"One out!" Detlev roared.

Tempest howled with him, this time the enemy Russ screeched to a halt, its right side treads smashed to pieces.

"Finish em off!" Riker thumped the top of the turret.

Another shell banged out, this time piercing and detonating inside the enemies hull. A sigh of relief escaped Riker's lips as smoke began to pour from the holes in the enemy armour.

"Everybody okay?" Riker demanded.

A series of affirmatives came back.

Another battle tank was rolling toward them, its gun tracking the Vanquisher. Before Riker could get any warnings out, Kasia hauled the tanks levers, turning to the left and down a relatively steep slope. Her sudden move threw the enemy gunner off his aim and his attempt to compensate missed completely, the shell whistling loudly over head.

"Traverse right, traverse right, kill the bastard! Vendetta you got a shot?"

To answer his question a high explosive crashed into the enemy tanks prow, destroying her forward mounted las cannon.

"Got your back!" Jurgen whooped on the comm.

"Hang on!" Kasia exclaimed, bringing Tempest back around toward the enemy at speed.

Another shell from the traitor tank thundered out, it skipped off the rear armour with a resounding thud and spiralled out of Riker's line of sight. Had Kasia not pulled Tempest around when she had they'd have lost the tracks.

"Got a shot! One out!" Detlev announced and Tempest finally dealt the killing blow straight through the weak spot made by Vendetta.

"Kasia you are one hell of a driver!" Volker applauded from his cramped sponson compartment.

"That's why I personally selected her." Riker added.

Kasia said nothing.

Riker spat the grit from his mouth, "Let's finish this."

Like an unstoppable wave of death the Ultion 81st Armoured Division swept across the shell blasted landscape. Red hulled battle tanks were pounded to fragments, with only a few casualties taken by the loyalists. A war between tanks was noisy affair, battle cannons roared, sponson and turret guns barked and thudded. Men screamed, engines howled and whined, treads crunched and squealed. It was an all encompassing thing, an impenetrable wall of sound that would eventually, if they lived long enough in their service, cause each and every one of them to go deaf. Riker rode it out in the copula, leading his men and women onward to victory where they could see him and not from behind a vox horn inside the hull. This was indeed the end, this would be the final winning fight to reclaim Oasrine from the forces of darkness. They had tried and failed to capture the hive world. They had brought men taken from PDF forces across the system, whose training seemed barely matched against even the lowliest Guardsman but against the army of Ultio it was embarrassing. They had been decimated in each and every fight, losing ground in days that had taken them weeks to gain before the arrival of the Imperial Guard. They had stolen armour and support vehicles from the manufactories thinking that might tip the balance, only to find themselves greeted by the might of the 81st and utterly smashed beneath disciplined volley's of cannon fire. Now, on the fields beneath the shadow of the Primus hive, they made their last stand and they were dying just as easily.

Riker folded his arms across his chest as the last enemy tank blew apart in a spectacular display of spinning shrapnel and greasy black smoke. Her munitions cooked off in a series of popping secondary explosions and one of her crew crawled from the top hatch, screaming and burning. Riker could have shot him but he didn't.

"Formation hold." He ordered over the Division wide comm channel, finger pressed to his micro-bead.

As one the battle line rolled to halt, engines idling.

"Let the ground troopers mop up the rest of them, we're done here. Captain Utgart do you read me?"

"Affirmative Commander Riker. Very impressive display as always."

Keeping the smugness from his voice Riker replied, "They're all yours now Captain, happy hunting. Riker out."

"See you back in orbit commander, Utgart out."

Between the still forms of the battle tanks, columns of smaller Chimera transports began to roll in, stopping to disgorge the black armoured men and woman of the Ultion infantry. Riker watched them for a few short moments as the first wave engaged the now fleeing enemy. Utgart wouldn't have much to do but tidying up. It would be easy and quick.

Riker thumped the turret with his fist, "Alright people, let's go home."

A cheer went up among the tanks crews and the commander allowed himself a proper smile as he straightened his green beret. Another win to chalk up on the tally chart. One of many.

"And may there be many more to come." He muttered to himself.

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><p>With a grunt Sergeant Viktoria Zulker, member of the 2nd Virkine House Guard, one of Ultio's most prolific Houses, slammed her power fist into the narrow gap between the heavy workshop doors that led back out into the street. A cool breeze swept in where the doors buckled and brought it a few splashes of rain. Growling Viktoria grabbed the edge of one of the doors and began to force it open. Inside the mechanism old gears resisted and the metal shrieked as she pushed. There was no more need for stealth, they had what they came for and the enemy were already on their trail. Oasrine wasn't the end, it was just the beginning, whether they repelled the enemy there or not something else was on its way. Something worse. So far the cultists had been little more than cannon fodder to keep the defences busy while the real enemy made its way to the system. Viktoria and her crew had discovered what that enemy was and that its vanguard was already here. With a clang the doors finally gave way and Viktoria shoved them aside, cold air and water droplets billowing inside to fog her helmet lenses.<p>

"Go, go!" she growled at her squad, four men in iron grey carapace and black fatigues, three armed with hot-shot las guns, Viktoria preferred the un-official name of hellgun, and one with a melta-gun. They were the elite, the best Ultio had to offer in an already outstanding Guard army. House Guard troopers were selected as children when they showed particular athletic promise or intelligence. They received the best training and the best equipment money could buy and for the ruling Houses of Ultio, money was never a problem. Viktoria knew of the Militarum Tempestus or Storm Troopers, other Imperial Guard units fought with and in truth the House Guard were very similar in many respects. To Viktoria though, there was one difference she believed made the House Guard superior. They didn't need to be brainwashed to be loyal and follow orders. House Guard troopers fought harder because they remembered where they came from, their loyalty came from patriotism and love for the home lands and Ultio itself. Serving as House Guard was a supreme honour, they remembered their families living or dead and they fought to protect them and everyone too weak to protect themselves. Whether her beliefs regarding the Tempestus was true or not didn't really matter, the House Guard got the job done, _she _got the job done.

"Eyes up lads, they could be in anyone of these buildings and they probably know to look out for us." Her breath misted in the chill air.

They had emerged into a narrow side street, over-looked on each side by imposingly tall habitation blocks. Civilians had been cleared out of this area when the enemy had first rolled in a week ago. Pexirine, the second planet in the Oasix System, had been invaded just as the final push to reclaim Oasrine had begun. High Command had begun moving the bulk of the Ultion off Oasrine but it was taking time. First on the ground had been the House Guard in an attempt to gather intelligence on this "new" threat. Viktoria certainly hadn't expected to stumble across such valuable intel so soon. Now it was a race through enemy controlled territory to the evac zone and inform High Command. It wasn't going to be easy now they knew she and her team were here. It had been unavoidable, when trooper Leon hacked the enemies encrypted system he'd activated a failsafe that tried to scrub itself clean before they could retrieve any data. Not being a tech priest but certainly the next best thing, Leon had saved what they needed but couldn't stop the alarm that had been triggered. They could have voxed the message out but as soon as the failsafe activated communications had been blocked. Even their more advanced clarion network was jammed. Now they were being hunted.

With the black walled hab units towering above them few actual rain drops made to ground level but the overspill from drainage pipes above did, filling the alley way with inches deep, green tinged water. It had been the same across this entire level, even in wider main roads. How anyone could live comfortably here was a mystery but then this was a manufactorum district, no one was comfortable. A las bolt burned out of the dark and smacked into the ground at Viktoria's feet. She leapt forward, water trailing in her wake and slammed into an alcove, kicking trash cans and boxes aside in effort to gain more cover. More las bolts slapped against the rockrete wall kicking out dust, those that struck the ground vaporised the standing water and soon the alley was beginning to fill with steam.

"Can anyone get a lock on where that's coming from?" the sergeant demanded, wishing she'd brought a rifle instead of her fist and pistol.

Lutz, crouched in a doorway sighted up the street, braving a barrage of las fire to do so. "Ten meters up, both sides!"

"We can't advanced up the street, we'll be cut to ribbons! Lutz kick that door in and we'll move through the buildings, if they're connected we'll meet and kill the bastards up close!"

Lutz nodded and rose to his feet, his boot thudded against the door, once, twice but it didn't budge. "Locked down tight sarge!"

Viktoria growled. "Cover me!" she demanded, activating her power fist.

Lutz, Andreas and Leon poured on the fire, aiming at muzzle flashes. Klaus who carried the melta-gun, which was useless at this range, simply waited for his sergeant to bust the door. With a wordless yelp Viktoria leapt across the alley fist first and slammed the heavy metal door off its hinges. She skidded across the floor, pistol raised but there was no one inside.

They made swift time through the hab unit, its narrow corridors were a maze and every corner threatened another ambush but they didn't meet anyone else on the ground level. In fact it wasn't until they hit the third floor that they finally met their new foes in person. He rounded a corner directly in front of Viktoria. His carapace armour was the colour of dulled steel, accented with brass. His las gun casing covered in black and yellow chevrons. His helmet was a stylised grinning skull with blood red eye lenses. His weapon snapped up with speed that betrayed better training than the previous forces encountered on Oasrine. His gun did not fire, Viktoria punched him in the chest with her power fist a split second faster than his finger could squeeze the trigger. His armour caved in and his limp body smashed hard into the wall behind bringing down a tumble of plaster and powder. He slumped to the floor, blood dribbling from beneath the carapace. Las blasts smacked into the wall as Viktoria ducked back into the corridor. Leon primed two Frag grenades and tossed them over her shoulder. A duel crump of detonation and a cloud of dust was followed by screams of pain. Klaus stepped into the hallway and his melta-gun poured white hot death into the smoke. For a second the screaming intensified then stopped abruptly. Klaus hosed the hall way a few seconds more until the heat caused the outer layer of metal on the walls to melt and floor became slag.

"Let's see them get passed that." He grunted.

"Nice job." Viktoria replied, not looking at the bodies she punched through into one of the habs living quarters.

It was sparse, little more than a bedroom and wash room. There was barely enough room for one person but judging by the amount of clothes there was at least two people living here. Squalor, this was how the average Imperial citizen lived. It wasn't pretty but then it wasn't her place to question it.

"We're two minutes from the evac site." She glanced out of the window, her back pressed to wall. "Straight down that road."

Leon cleared dirt from his helmet lenses. "Hell Bus might not be there sarge. They could have been hit."

Viktoria grunted in response, "He'll be there."

"If he isn't, I'm up for walking." Klaus added.

Andreas shrugged his shoulders, the movement exaggerated by his pauldrons. "That's the spirit."

Viktoria shattered the window with a flick of her armoured finger and peered down. "It's a three story drop but there's trash truck under the window."

"Well that's lucky." Leon remarked.

"Easy." Said Lutz stepping forward.

He clambered out of the window and fell feet first onto the top of the truck, his impact was loud enough to echo down every street. He vaulted off into the dirty water beneath, hell gun raised and ready. Leon, Andreas and Klaus followed. Viktoria glanced back at the crumpled enemy body by the door then dropped down after them.

"Straight through!" she pointed.

They darted forward, splashing in the ankle deep water.

Suddenly there was las shot chasing their heels. One round whipped over Viktoria's shoulder and grazed her helmet. Hissing, more in anger than pain, she twisted with the impact letting the momentum carry her round one hundred eighty degrees. She lifted her hot shot las pistol and put a bolt of hot white energy through one of the pursuers necks. He flipped off his feet and hit the ground in a spray of brackish water. Both forces broke for cover, trading las shots as they moved. Another traitor toppled over with a fist sized hole in his face.

Viktoria snapped off another shot, then ducked back as return fire smacked into the roof of the personal vehicle she crouched behind.

"Cover and withdraw!" she yelled and the squad began to fall back, cover to cover, each stopping to shoot as the other sprinted a little further down the road.

She hit her micro bead, hoping short range vox was still active. "Hell Bus? Dominik do you read me?" Static greeted her. "Throne!" Dom must have been able to hear the gunfire. He was less than a block away.

"Klaus is hit!" Lutz yelled.

Viktoria saw her weapon specialist fall back from his cover, blood pouring down his right arm. Leon dragged him back in behind the Arbite's barricade they were crouched behind.

"Klaus you hurt bad?" she shouted over the sound of Andreas' hell gun practically cutting another traitor in half.

"No sarge, but it might leave a scar." Klaus replied through gritted teeth.

It wouldn't be long before the enemy overwhelmed them, already the opposite end of the street was filling up with traitor guard. Las fire whipped over Viktoria's head as she tried the vox again.

"Dominik for Thrones sake where are you? We're about to be over run we need evac!"

She popped up to shoot a traitor in the eye then ducked back down. Lutz shot blew another's head clean off, blood and brains showering his comrades. Leon killed a third with a chest shot, it punched a hole punched clean through the carapace and threw him a good five feet backwards onto the ground. As good as the House Guard were they couldn't keep this up forever.

Then as Viktoria began to worry Hell Bus might have been taken out she heard its engine behind her.

"About time!" she snarled to herself.

Dozer blade shoving aside wrecked vehicles and debris Hell Buss, a heavily armoured Chimera transport, roared up the street, its multi laser whining as it spat a barrage of bolts at the enemy. As the vehicle drew up next to Viktoria the top hatch popped and Dominik's bearded face appeared.

"Need a ride?" he asked taking hold of the heavy stubber mounted on the copula and opened fire.

With the heavier support of their evac vehicle the House Guard rose from cover to finish off those that had dared follow them this far. After a few noisy moments the last enemy collapsed and nothing but steam and blood mist filled that end of the road.

Lowering her smoking weapon Viktoria looked up at Dom. "Where the hell were you?"

"We had to loop around when a patrol came by, obviously looking for you. We tried comms but they were jammed so when we heard gunfire we came looking too." He dropped the empty ammo drum from his weapon and smiled smugly.

"Could have been a little faster." Viktoria replied coldly walking away from him and toward the body of a traitor.

Leon and Andreas were putting Klaus in the back of the Chimera but Lutz followed his CO.

"Sarge?" He asked, weapon held ready, helmet lenses nervously scanning the street.

"Come on!" Dominik yelled, "First you bitch I'm late, now you don't want to leave?"

Viktoria ignored him, he'd get a whack around the head later, she knelt by a relatively intact body, there was a hole through his chest and heart but nothing else. "I need to be sure of something."

Lutz covered her but his gaze wandered to what she was doing. Carefully Viktoria removed the skull helm and tossed it aside, she vaguely recognised the design.

"You read the data, you already know the answer." Lutz muttered.

The traitor had the ritualistic scars on his neck and shaven head she associated with the arch enemy, an eight pointed star but there were remnants of Guard tattoos there too that had been scratched away or covered with other unholy images. They had been Terrakon Grenadiers at one point that much she could tell from his defaced dog tags. She'd heard of the Terrakon they'd disappeared a few years ago. Several regiments of highly trained Imperial Guard soldiers and armour vanished in the warp. They'd re-emerged not long back under the banner of the arch enemy and caused havoc along this entire clusters but it was their new masters she feared more than the Terrakon themselves. She turned the dog tag over in her hand and her power fist clenched with a crackle of energy. Four words had been scratched on the back of the tag. They said:

_Iron Within. Iron Without. _


End file.
